The sound of held back laughter filled the room as students watched their classmates forget their own names, convinced that they were the biggest liars in the world with a made-up name. 

What seemed like something that could only happen in movies quickly became reality during Mark Marshall’s hypnotism performance at Kent. A certified hypnotist, Marshall performs clinical hypnosis sessions, assisting a wide variety of clients, including professional athletes and patients with traumatic experiences, as well as performances for a more general audience. 

Beginning his presentation to psychology students with a slide saying “your brain is lying to you,” Marshall explained the mechanisms and brain functions that are related to hypnosis. Emphasizing the importance of interpreting information in an instant and feeding that information to the brain, “HynoMarc” demonstrated how psychological interactions allow hypnosis to happen. He then proceeded to show PET scans of individuals going through hypnosis sessions to back up the scientific evidence. He also discussed his own personal experience as a professional and certified clinical hypnotist. 

Finally, after seeing the skepticism on the students’ faces, he decided to perform a hypnosis session,  emphasizing the importance of staying calm and not fretting in a large crowd. It was not easy to find a candidate. At last, the exciting moment began as he instructed a student to take a seat in front of the auditorium. The student became gradually guided into a relaxed, focused state. Under Marshall’s suggestions, the participant, with the snap of a finger, fell asleep. Marshall proceeded to feed instructions to the student in the unconscious state, who later claimed to have recollection but had no control over his actions. At Marshall’s prompting, he struggled to remember basic information, including his own name, sparking a wave of laughter in the audience. By the end of the session, the participant was slowly guided back into full awareness. 

By combining an engaging performance with the deeper psychological concepts of hypnosis, the session challenged the students’ understanding of hypnosis and the underestimated psychological potential behind.